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2K BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera, active m43, $995
  • 4493 Replies sorted by
  • JuMoJuMo

    @cykla Nice to see your footage. I was actually born there and visited with my wife just a couple years ago. Beautiful area of the world.

  • ahblezaahbleza

    Here's a review from a professional Director based in NYC.

    http://boingboing.net/2013/12/02/pro-director-reviews-blackmagi.html

    From the review:

    "I'm impressed with its latitude and its low noise floor. While not as amazing as the 5D in extreme low-light, I found the 800-1600 ASA to be impressive. ... My friend, DP Norman Bonney came to the telecine session and felt that the pixel feel will complement RED/Alexa shoots."

  • flabloflablo

    I usually like Mr.Bloom, but sometimes his reluctancy to really appreciate something which is not coming from Canon is annoying. I remember his very first hands-on posts on the Pocket, and he managed to mock the camera so much at a certain point that I thought he must have been drunk (saying how ridiculous the camera looked on a rig and stuff like that). His attitude of joking on the word "pocket" while showing that the camera with a lens mounted on it can't fit in his pocket and insisting that that is not a proper "pocket" camera (as if a proper "pocket" camera should have some kind of foldable lens on it) is really upsetting. I fully understand the limitations of the Pocket, and the extra gear needed to use it properly as a cinema camera, but is the EOS 1DC so versatile to use? And it costs 15 times more and it uses a crappy MJPEG codec! But yes, the 1DC deserves to be worshipped. Now that the little beasts features RAW video and we have a dedicated Speedbooster that delivers 0.74(!) he somehow feels compelled to admit that ok, it is quite... well... nice ... Don't get me wrong, this is not anti-Canon rant, I couldn't care less, but his attitude is really ridiculous to me. Am I the only one who thinks that?

  • CidCid

    @cykla I had a friend that graduated in the university there. We worked together in a documentary here in Brazil. Great swiss girl. But a had no idea how beatiful and alive the city looks. Thanks for your POV.

  • vicharrisvicharris

    Just an FYI, the pocket beat the RED in terms of noise at 800 ASA at a test at Hollywood Camera. One of these days I need to get a hold of the footage :)

  • markr041markr041

    Mr. Bloom is fun, and at the end with all the Tomfoolery he gets the main points right. But he is really lousy at grading - the video examples are awful - and part of that is he is using FilmConvert, which he appears to be advertising. No real attempt to use RAW, or Resolve, to push what the camera is capable of.

  • CidCid

    @flablo No, you aren´t. Mr.Bloom has a broadcast background, so anything without XLR connectors doesn´t sound "proper". Apart the Canon stuff, of corse ;o)

  • rlimarlima

    @flablo You are not. Since mr. Bloom became famous and hired a personal stylist, I can't see him liking anything below $5K. At least two moments of his part 3 that I thought was hilarious, when he says the pocket camera could be 'maybe' his C-cam and when he states that the difference between raw and prores would be only a bit more dynamic range. Now if the PC had a Canon badge, it would be a whole different story.

  • flabloflablo

    Why did they call it "cinema" camera if it doesn't even feature a proper cinema theater (selling pop corns) inside?

  • SuperSetSuperSet

    What's wrong with Film Convert?

  • Ian_TIan_T

    The part that struck me about Mr. Bloom's review was when he said the Pocket's RAW advantage over its ProRes was only the dynamic range. I've seen the difference in sharpness and it's certainly not a slight difference. It's as if someone wiped the Vaseline away from my eyes. I like Bloom....but I really didn't get that at all. But...like he said....it's his opinion.

  • vicharrisvicharris

    Footage I grabbed while driving back and forth for a shoot in the desert. It's not perfect and there's a little bit of shaky stuff in there. Kind of hard to get stable footage shooting telephoto, during a wind storm on a few of the shots. Moire and aliasing is out of control!! I was shooting with the 2.5K on some of these setups so I have a side by side comparison. Need to grade and edit it soon as it has a bunch on footage with SLR Magics new 12mm MKII on it.

  • matt_gh2matt_gh2

    @vicharris Some real nice shots here.

    One thing that seems to jump out from all the BM footage people are posting is that there's a ton of nice detail on these images...and it's present top to bottom and left to right. My next project is 3-6 months away and this camera seems really attractive for narratuve feature shooting.

  • Ian_TIan_T

    ...and...this is an A cam. The image speaks volumes. Sure....you might have to outfit it with some weighty surroundings to help stability (it depends) but why did he say "C" cam?

  • matt_gh2matt_gh2

    @Ian_T I agree that it can be an A cam. So can a GH2 or GH1. All 3 can deliver imaging to produce a beautiful feature film. So then the question would be, if Pocket is C cam...what would the A cam be? I'm sure there are better cameras than the Pocket....but are any of them cheaper or close in price to $995. For budget filmamker this may be best cam at price range.

  • vicharrisvicharris

    He literally doesn't know what he's talking about. I can assure you, the pocket has already been used on a full length feature as the A cam with a Red and 2 2.5Ks as VFX plate cameras.

  • vicharrisvicharris

    You know what, I'll take that back. He said he wouldn't. That's fine. Doesn't mean it's not a viable and able camera to shoot a movie on, just he wouldn't..........cause it doesn't say Canon and his sponsors wouldn't like that ;) jk

  • vicharrisvicharris

    @matt_gh2 Thanks man. Of course looking at the stuff online makes me cringe and when I have time, might go back and some some more cleaning up to prevent some of the blocking and artifacting going on. Prob bump up the sat too a little.

  • MaulKentorMaulKentor

    Title sequence I shot on the BMPCC with raw.

  • matt_gh2matt_gh2

    @MaulKentor Very cool.

  • spacewigspacewig

    Repost from the blackmagic site in the event someone here knows:

    I've recently downloaded the x-rite ColorChecker Passport app -since I own a colorchecker chart- to create DNG profiles.

    How, if at all, can I use these DNG profiles in Resolve?

  • cyklacykla

    @Cid @JuMo Thanks guys, this camera with a Nokton (25 or 17.5) is a perfect combo for low light shots. It s not perfectly sharp but the light scenes are giving this kind of magic in the air. I ve added a chinese copy of the Edelkrone pocket rig and now I am good to go even without OIS stab. I will do more shots asap so you can see the lake too :)

  • _gl_gl

    I find the Bloom bashing warped. I watched Part 3 and it seems a very balanced review. The guy has access to tons of high-end cameras and shoots with budgets, so to him it's not an A cam. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be for anyone else. He even says at the top 'I'm often wrong so make up your own mind'. What more do you want?

    All the flaws he points out are real. How much they matter depends on individual priorities, so you don't have to agree with his. They're all still worth pointing out so people can make informed decisions.

    I also don't agree with him on RAW vs ProRes, from the comparisons I've seen RAW does add a bit more detail. But for the results he needs, it may not be worth the extra hassle for him. Again you don't have to agree.

  • nomadnomad

    I don't mind if its not an A cam for him, but C ? C'mon, I have access to Reds most of the time and I've used Alexa and F55. It would be a viable B cam next to these any time.

    If they'd make a Pocket with 2.5 K and a proper OLPF, I'd leave the Scarlet in the bag on many occasions…

  • _gl_gl

    I take your point. I think for Bloom, not having audio or file management is a big deal, and it turned him off more than those who only care about the (very good) image. But at the end when he updates with RAW and SpeedBooster, he came around imo.

    My point is, people need to stop being so insecure in their own choices that they can't tolerate someone else having different priorities. Bloom is just a (useful) datapoint. Nobody has exactly the same needs as anyone else, so people will always disagree on what's best.

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